Abbott 1Q Profit Down, But Adjusted Results Grow

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) — Abbott Laboratories said today its first-quarter net income slid as the year-earlier period got a boost from discontinued operations. However, earnings from continuing operations climbed more than 4 percent on sales of the company's nutritionals and diagnostic tests.

Sales of those products helped offset declines in medical devices, which fell more than 4 percent.

At the beginning of this year Abbott completed the spin-off of its drug business into a separate company, AbbVie, leaving it with a business model built around generic drugs, medical implants and nutritional formula. AbbVie markets the company's branded prescription drugs, including the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira.

In the company's first quarter since the split, Abbott reported net income of $544 million, or 34 cents per share, down from $1.24 billion, or 78 cents per share. The $1.24 billion figure from last year includes earnings from AbbVie.

Adjusted income from continuing operations totaled $674 million, or 42 cents per share, up from $645 million, or 40 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2012. The latest results exclude various charges associated with the company's split and reorganization.